Bans have been an issue ever since the merge back in 2010 and the cost-cutting done by Sulake. Last month, many were hopeful that after a major re-vamp of the hotel introduced by newly appointed CEO Paul Fontaine that things would change. It did look that way after the dismissal of a large chunk of moderation staff from Singapore, working on quite a minimum wage.

However, it appears complaints continue to pile up to no avail. Recently, the issue has been further highlighted when Paul Lafontaine helped FieryCold, a famous Habbo with connections to retain their account. This sparked uproar, particularly from people who were in a similar situation, yet were ignored by Habbo Customer Support. So is this bias or sheer hypocrisy? The verdict seems to point to both. Basically, to state it in the shortest way possible, he had purchased items from someone who bought them illegally initially with a stolen credit card. However, it’s not the fact that his ban was unfair or fair; it was the whole fiasco of Lafontaine helping someone behind closed doors that enraged some. What’s more, members in the past with a similar situation were actually unsuccessful in their appeals and continue to be so.

Yet, this latest slip is just one tiny glitch in a larger canvass of outrageous bans. People were banned for numerous issues, with someone even automatically receiving a 2 hour ban with no warning for calling someone “ugly”. Customer Support is a poorly operated system on Habbo itself in regards to bans. There have been cases where people had waited, days and even weeks for the slightest ban appeal. There used to be a 24 to 48 hour guarantee, not anymore. This makes some wonder whether Habbo is understaffed or simply become an ineffective bureaucracy. Yet, how could it have become bureaucratic with the latest shake-up in the hierarchy. Whilst Paul has already come out and said that he will not participate in such back-room chat, his statement fails to tackle the fundamental issues of bans.  Sure, keeping it in the public eye and responding to many Habbos concerns is a step in the right direction, but it is only one tiny baby step, for an issue that still has a whole marathon to run before it is sorted.

Tell Mr. Lafontaine to “forward my thanks”. If you want to watch the video about the FieryCold – Lafontaine fiasco, then you can click here. Remember to also click ‘Read More’ and send in your views on the issue!

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